Account

T-Mobile appoints TMW for consolidated DM business

T-Mobile, the UK's third-largest mobile operator, has consolidated its £10 million direct marketing business into Tullo Marshall Warren.

The account was previously split between Claydon Heeley Jones Mason, which handled consumer direct marketing, MSB+K, which handled business to business, and Bright, which worked on a project basis.

Claydon Heeley had held the main consumer account for two years. However, it declined to repitch for the consolidated business and a recent agency newsletter described its bad relationship with the client.

T-Mobile decided to consolidate direct marketing as part of an ongoing cost-cutting exercise that saw it centralise its pan-European creative and media accounts into Saatchi & Saatchi and Universal McCann. UK creative was previously with Bartle Bogle Hegarty and media with Starcom Motive.

Part of TMW's brief is to persuade consumers to upgrade to t-zones, T-Mobile's next- generation offering of gaming and picture messaging.

The direct marketing review was handled by T-Mobile's UK marketing director, Sandy Munro. It recently hired the former BBC marketer David Grint as its head of brand development and communications, reporting to Munro.

TMW's appointment follows its loss of the £20 million O2 account to Archibald Ingall Stretton in April.

T-Mobile's latest European advertising focuses on a tie-up with the Charlie's Angels film sequel and its partnership with the handset manufacturer Sony Ericsson.